I would like to build a datalogger with a decent sampling rate (50ks+) so i can send data to a laptop for real time frequency analysis.

I am currently in the process of choosing a suitable uC development kit to use. I really like the look of the Arduino architecture and hope to use one for this application.

Looking at the ATMEGA datasheets, with the right clock prescaler and UART settings, speeds of 500k to 1M+ baud can be set.

I have some questions:

1. Will the Arduino interpreted software langauge get in the way or make it difficult to set system clock prescalers or UART registers to attain serial coms speeds of 500k to 1M. The langauge refernce only refers to speeds up to 115k baud. If you play around with the system clock prescaler or set it to a non default value does it break the Arduino?

2. Has anyone completed an experiment or study to see how fast the UART can go? Ie: Is there hardware limitations from the FTDI chip or track routing on the board / stray capacitance etc.

3. Can a task scheduler be set up to run as fast as every 20uS?

Sorry for what might be perceived as lazy questions, but i am simply trying to determine if an ATMEGA based Arduino will suit this application.